The long dread-locked singer for Shadows Fall, Brian Fair, called me as soon as he got home from rehearsing in the studio. Although he was a bit hoarse, he sounded nothing like the brutal vocalist for the band I’ve loved since the first time I heard their CD while working at WSOU in 1999.
Shadows Fall have been in the spotlight of the metal scene as one of the two huge bands being signed to a major record label (Lamb Of God being the other). The band released their latest album Threads Of Life in April, and have done nothing but tour since, with no plans to stop. They are the second only to GWAR on the tour. Shadows Fall have played Ozzfest twice, as well as toured with just about every band to grace the metal world.
Here’s what Brian had to say.
You’re doing Sounds Of The Underground this summer! How are you feeling about being one of the main bands on the lineup?
I actually saw the inaugural show though in Massachusetts with Lamb Of God. I’ve gone every year since and am totally stoked to be on it this year. It’s pretty much the closest to a rolling party that there is in the summer. We did a couple of one off dates on last summer’s Ozzfest, somewhere in Arizona I think.
How do you think Sounds compares to Ozzfest, since you guys are Ozzfest veterans?
Sounds is different because it stops at non-arena type places. That right there makes them a lot different. Ozzfest doesn’t start as early as well. But they’re both awesome. Sounds is more eclectic of a bill and brings in a lot of different types of bands. We’re just looking forward to being part of it. It should be a good time.
How did you guys get on Sounds?
The people putting it together approached us. Once we saw the bands that were being talked about, that got us more psyched about it. We were gonna be around for the summer, so it all worked out.
How have things been with the band since Threads Of Life came out?
It was pretty hectic because we hit the road just as the record was coming out. For those first two weeks, we were doing all the things for the album release and the press and everything as well. So now it’s calmed down a little bit. There was definitely a whirlwind there for the last couple of months. But it’s gonna keep going. We’re probably gonna be on the road until December at the earliest. So it’s gonna be a lot of work, a lot of good times and hopefully the record will do well.
I was just at your new website and was too busy playing the games rather than do my research. What’s the reason for all the fun distractions?
We just have random stuff on there, so while fans are checking random news and tour dates, all the boring stuff that has to be there, we wanted to have something cool on there. There’s someone at our management company that programs video games. So it’s something for fans to do while they are at the site.
Speaking of your management company (The Syndicate), how are things working out with them, now that you’re on a major label and having worked with The Syndicate since your grassroots days?
All we’ve done over the years is add people to the team. When we signed with Atlantic they understood that we were working with a core group of people for a long time. They also understood that we were hands on with everything and Atlantic realized they were joining forces with that rather than trying to change that. They were cool with that and that’s the reason we went with Atlantic. It’s been really smooth though, and we just have to keep working harder and harder.
Is the band completely based in Massachusetts still?
Jason is the only one that doesn’t live in Massachusetts. He lives in Albany. The rest of us all live in Mass. We’re about an hour and a half away from each other, but we’ve stayed close to where we all grew up.
